This blog was created for Niles Animal Hospital & Bird Medical Center by Peter S. Sakas DVM in an effort to provide information & discussion about animal related issues. It may move into some eccentric directions on occasion if the mood strikes me as I get more comfortable in this form of communication. I am open to suggestions & comments about the blog. Also view our hospital website www.nilesanimalhospital.com or Facebook page Niles Animal Hospital and Bird Medical Center.

Blacklisted dog breeds at center of homeowners insurance dilemma

November 7, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) --
The ABC 7 I-Team unleashes findings on an insurance trend that has dog
owners howling mad. They're presented an ultimatum: choose between a
beloved pet dog or insuring their home.

Typically, the liability part of your home or renters
insurance covers the actions of your pet, but dog bite claims are up and
insurance companies are making changes. If you own a dog, you may be
facing higher rates, or worse-- your insurer may dump you all together.
Owners say it's breed discrimination and unfair, while insurance
companies insist they're merely managing risk.

These
huskies have no history of biting, but some insurance companies see
nothing but teeth. While shopping around for a better homeowners
rate, Melissa Ashley of Winfield, Ind., was shocked to learn her dogs
had been red-flagged.

"I was mad. I was like, 'Is
this a joke?' I said, 'Are you kidding me?' and he said, 'No, I'm sorry
ma'am, but we can't cover you,'" said Melissa Ashley, dog owner.

Some companies have been excluding breeds for years. Ashley says
her pets were never an issue before. She tells the I-Team two
companies refused coverage; several others would give her a policy, but
it would cost nearly double what she was now paying. Turns out her
huskies are on an insurance "blacklist" of dog breeds considered
aggressive and dangerous.

"It is upsetting to me to think that we could possibly be at risk to lose insurance," said Ashley.
She is not alone. Some families are being told to either lose the
dog or lose insurance. Others are
having trouble getting coverage at
all. Dog owners are learning it's not just the so-called "bully breeds"
showing up on these lists.

An I-Team check of insurance
companies finds blacklisted pets can include: chows, huskies, malamutes,
akitas and great Danes. How the blacklists are compiled varies
from company to company.

"It's kinda like insuring a
burning building, you are not going to insure a burning building," said
Loretta Worters, VP, Insurance Information Institute.

The industry claims dog bites cost insurance businesses an arm and a
leg. Recently released data from the Insurance Information Institute,
which represents more than 300 companies, reveals dog bites accounted
for more than one-third of all homeowner liability claims paid out in
2012-- costing insurance companies nearly $490 million last year.

"This is all concrete information we are getting, numbers that show the
losses and you can't dispute the numbers, it is what it is," said
Worters. "Each company is different on how they are going to treat
this."
Animal advocates insist it's the "bite" not the breed to fear, meaning a dog's own temperament is what's important.

The I-Team contacted ten well-known insurance companies doing
business in the Midwest. Two companies admit declining homeowners
coverage if the family pet is among the blacklisted breeds. The others
told us they don't exclude dogs based on breed.

For
example, American Family Insurance does not insure homes with certain
dog breeds, saying its policy helps keeps rates affordable for all of
its customers. State Farm does not refuse insurance based on breed.
Instead, the company looks at the bite history of the actual dog to
determine risk.
Animal shelters are now warning would-be adopters to beware.

"I've started bringing up insurance to because it's a little more out
there. . .We don't want people surprised and go home and be like, 'Wait a
minute, I can't have this dog because of insurance?'" said Chris
Stirn, director of operations, A.D.O.P.T.

The Ashleys decided to stick with State Farm for coverage.

So you don't get caught off guard, shop around. Policies vary widely by
company, state and city. Read the fine print: see if a policy excludes
or limits bite claims. If so, a separate umbrella policy can provide the
liability coverage lacking in your homeowners insurance. Other concerns
or complaints can be directed at your state's department of insurance.

Illinois Department of Insurance To File a complaint: http://insurance.illinois.gov/Home/ComplaintLinks.asp Illinois Insurance Association Hot Line at 800-444-3338 to see if the proper number of days notice was given for cancellation, or to find an insurance company who will insure them.

What's even more inspirational is the fact that Jermaine has dedicated his life to being his brother's seeing eye dog.

"I think this is a little bit
extraordinary in my experience because they're so careful with one
another and play together so well," said Ray Little, Director of Life
Saving at Operation Ava. "Jeffrey really does try to maintain contact
with Jermaine, especially when he's in an unfamiliar environment. As
soon as he gets familiar with a new place, then he becomes a little bit
more independent. But it's amazing how they try to maintain contact
with each other."

The pups, believed to be lab-pit mixes, were found on a Philadelphia street in October and were taken in by Operation Ava.

The rescue organization received more
than 10,000 inquires and multiple applications after the photo of
Jeffrey and Jermaine hugging while sleeping was posted by the Chester
County SPCA on Friday, Nov. 15. They were able to place the dog brothers in the same home.

Jeffrey and Jermaine reached
celebrity status when the photo, and a video produced by Drexel Hill
native Tom Hickey caught the attention of Ryan Seacrest who posted the
heartwarming story on his website.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Dr. Sakas will be on the nationally broadcast radio show, "On Call"
hosted by Wendy
Wiese, on Relevant Radio, Friday, November 22nd from 1-2 PM CST. This was just scheduled today (11/21/13) as the host needed to fill the guest slot on short notice.

The
broadcast can be
heard on 950 AM, 930 AM, 1270 AM or accessed through your computer at
www.relevantradio.com and listened to online. It is a call in show and
Dr. Sakas has been a regular guest on the show. Their phone number
for call ins is 1-877-766-3777.

Future dates for next year are being set
up....all between 1-2 CST. We will keep providing updates as the dates are set.

If you
cannot listen to it live, go to the "On Call" portion
of the Relevant Radio website at www.relevantradio.com, where you can
hear this and past shows (7/9/13, 9/21/13, 10/7/13) in the archived shows
section (where they are kept for a few months).

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

As a service to pet owners everywhere we have added a link (actually a widget) on our hospital website home page (www.nilesanimalhospital.com) in the lower left corner. Click on the link and it has an up to the minute listing of all the pet food recalls. (Pet Food/Treat Recalls See Latest Recalls).

This information about the recalls is provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Monday, November 11, 2013

FDA warns about feeding your pet a raw-food diet

In a new study, compared to other types of pet
food tested, raw pet food was more likely to be contaminated with
disease-causing bacteria, the FDA said.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is cautioning pet owners
about feeding their animals raw diets, warning that those who do may
have a higher risk of getting infected with Salmonella and Listeria
monocytogenes.

In a new study, compared to other types of pet food tested, raw pet
food was more likely to be contaminated with disease-causing bacteria,
the agency said.

The new warning was issued after a two-year study, in which the FDA
Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) screened more than 1,000 samples of
pet food for bacteria that can cause foodborne illnesses.
In the study, CVM sampled 196 commercially available raw dog and
cat food. The center bought a variety of raw pet food online from
different manufacturers and had the products shipped directly to six
laboratories for analysis, according to the FDA. The raw pet-food
products were usually frozen in tubelike packages and made from ground
meat or sausage.

Of the samples analyzed, 15 were positive for salmonella and 32 were positive for listeria.

The study “identified a potential health risk for the pets eating the
raw food, and for the owners handling the product,” said Dr. Renate
Reimschuessel, a researcher at CVM’s Office of Research and one of the
study’s principal investigators.

The FDA said the best way to prevent infection is to not feed your
pet a raw diet; however, the agency is aware that some people prefer
this type of food and offers some tips to prevent salmonella and
listeria:
• Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water (for at least 20
seconds) after handling raw pet food, and after touching surfaces or
objects that have come in contact with the raw food. Potential
contaminated surfaces include countertops and the inside of
refrigerators and microwaves. Potential contaminated objects include
kitchen utensils, feeding bowls and cutting boards.
• Thoroughly clean and disinfect all surfaces and objects that come
in contact with raw pet food. You can also run items through the
dishwasher after each use to clean and disinfect them.
• Freeze raw meat and poultry products until you are ready to use
them, and thaw them in your refrigerator or microwave, not on your
countertop or in your sink.
• Carefully handle raw and frozen meat and poultry products. Don’t
rinse raw meat, poultry, fish and seafood. Bacteria in the raw juices
can splash and spread to other food and surfaces.
• Keep raw food separate from other food.
• Immediately cover and refrigerate what your pet doesn’t eat or throw the leftovers out safely.
• If you’re using raw ingredients to make your own cooked pet food,
be sure to cook all food to a proper internal temperature as measured by
a food thermometer. Thorough cooking kills harmful foodborne bacteria.
• Don’t kiss your pet around its mouth, and don’t let your pet lick
your face. This is especially important after your pet has just finished
eating raw food.
• Thoroughly wash your hands after touching or being licked by your
pet. If your pet gives you a “kiss,” be sure to also wash your face.

For more information about raw pet food from the FDA, please read here.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

For all of you with teenagers or who have had teenagers, or are a
teenager, you may want to know why they really have a lot in common with
cats: Neither teenagers nor cats turn their heads when you call them by
name. No matter what you do for them, it is not enough. Indeed, all
humane efforts are barely adequate to compensate for the privilege of
waiting on them hand and foot. You rarely see a cat walking outside of
the house with an adult human being, and it can be safely said that no
teenager in his or her right mind wants to be seen in public with his or
her parents. Even if you tell jokes as well as Jay Leno, neither your
cat nor your teen will ever crack a smile. - No cat or teenager shares
you taste in music. Cats and teenagers can lie on the living-room sofa
for
hours on end without moving, barely breathing. Cats have nine lives.
Teenagers carry on as if they did. Cats and teenagers yawn in exactly
the same manner, communicating that ultimate human ecstasy - a sense of
complete and utter boredom. Cats and teenagers do not improve anyones
furniture. Cats that are free to roam outside sometimes have been known
to return in the middle of the night to deposit a dead animal in your
bedroom. Teenagers are not above that sort of behavior. Thus, if you
must raise teenagers, the best sources of advice are not other parents,
but veterinarians. It is also a good idea to keep a guidebook on cats at
hand at all times. And remember, above all else, put out the food and
do not make any sudden moves in their direction. When they make up their
minds, they will finally come to you for some affection and comfort,
and it will be a triumphant moment for all concerned.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Concerns About Jerky Pet Treats

Patricia
Cassidy’s dog, Doodles, died, in one of the cases associated with
eating jerky. There have been more than 3,600 reports of illnesses
associated with the pet treats and more than 580 deaths.

Seven years ago, Jordan Smith offered her two dogs a Christmas treat:
pieces of chicken jerky. Within hours, Eugene, a 14-year-old
wire-haired pointing griffon, and Choppy White, a poodle of uncertain
age, had diarrhea and were vomiting. A week later, Choppy White died of
liver failure.

Eugene hung on for a few more weeks but died in January 2007. The two
dogs were among the first cases of pets apparently poisoned by chicken
jerky dog treats.

“They immediately both got very ill, seriously ill,” said Ms. Smith,
41, a reporter at The Austin Chronicle in Austin, Tex. “I narrowed it
down to this jerky because it was the only thing they had in common and
it was within hours after they ate it.”

Ms. Smith eventually settled with the manufacturer of the pet treats
under an agreement prohibiting her from revealing the company’s name.
But she said she recently saw the product she believes poisoned her dogs
still on sale.

Eugene and Choppy White are far from the only pets to suffer problems
after eating jerky treats. The Food and Drug Administration has been
investigating cases of suspected poisonings since 2007, with scant
success. The agency updated
the numbers last month: there have been more than 3,600 reports of
illnesses associated with the treats and more than 580 deaths, almost
all among dogs.

Dr. Richard E. Goldstein, the chief medical officer at the Animal Medical Center
in New York, first noticed the problem in late 2006 or early 2007.
“We’re still seeing patients now, and a lot of vets don’t know about
it.”

The cause of the poisonings, if that is what they are, remains a
mystery. About 60 percent of the cases nationwide involve
gastrointestinal illness; 30 percent, kidney ailments; and the rest,
convulsions, tremors and skin irritations. Often the animals suffer from
Fanconi syndrome, a kidney disease that is otherwise very rare in dogs.
The breed or size does not appear to matter — Dalmatians and
dachshunds, pugs and German shepherds, mutts and purebreds have all been
affected.

Chicken is the most common ingredient in the products, but some also
contain duck, sweet potatoes, yams and dried fruits. Many are
manufactured in China, and in April 2012 F.D.A. officials inspected
several factories there, gathering information on manufacturing
processes, equipment, sanitation and product testing. They found nothing
in any of the factories that would explain the poisonings.

They did find that one factory had falsified papers about glycerin, a
common ingredient in the foods and not considered harmful in small
quantities. Chinese authorities seized the firm’s products and suspended
exports to the United States.

The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets has been
investigating, as well. Officials found low levels of antibiotic
residues in some of these products and in January asked for a voluntary
recall of several brands, including Waggin’ Train and Canyon Creek Ranch
chicken jerky treats, both distributed by Nestlé.

Nestlé removed the products from stores in New York, but issued a statement
asserting that the antibiotic residue does not pose a safety risk. A
sharp decline in the number of complaints followed, but the F.D.A.
agreed with Nestlé that antibiotics do not explain the problem and said
that the reduced number of complaints probably reflected the smaller
number of products available after the recall.

Still, the agency is continuing to test for possible contaminants.
F.D.A. technicians ran 240 tests on samples collected from 2007 to 2011,
and since then have collected about 250 samples connected to consumer
complaints, plus 200 more bought at retail stores. The agency has
performed more than 1,000 tests on these new samples.

Testing these products is not easy, according to Dr. Martine
Hartogensis, deputy director of surveillance and compliance at the
agency. “They’re very hard and dry, not soluble, more challenging than a
raw or fresh product,” she said. “It’s harder to establish methods for
testing them.”

Nevertheless, F.D.A. technicians have searched for a variety of
germs, toxins, drugs and other contaminants. They have screened samples
for Salmonella, mold, yeast and fungus. They have tested for additives
and preservatives like nitrites and sulfites, and for 19 food dyes. They
have run screens for lead, zinc, titanium and almost two dozen other
metals. They have used a gas chromatography mass spectrometer to search
for toxic chemicals.

They found Penicillium species in one sample, and some other
antibiotics in some samples, none in quantities large enough to cause
disease or death. They found glycerin in some products that were
mislabeled as containing none.

But after all this, the F.D.A. has found nothing that could explain the apparent poisonings.

“We have a staff in our office of research working on jerky pet
treats exclusively,” Dr. Hartogensis said. “And through our veterinary
lab network, we have numerous labs throughout the country working on it.
On Oct. 22, the agency appealed to veterinarians, asking them to
report illnesses associated with jerky treats and to collect urine and
blood samples. The F.D.A. has since received more than 1,000 reports,
including many from veterinarians.

“We’ve put out a lot of consumer alerts,” said Dr. Hartogensis, “but
this is the first time we’ve talked to vets, our eyes and ears out
there. We’re trying to get samples from active cases where the animal is
currently sick.
“We really need more tissue, urine and blood samples,” she said. “That’s where toxins are concentrated.”

Dr. Sakas Appearing on National Catholic Radio 11/11/13

Dr. Sakas will be on the nationally broadcast radio show, "On Call" hosted by Wendy
Wiese, on Relevant Radio, Monday, November 11th from 1-2 PM CST. This is a rescheduling of the previous announced November 26th date. The broadcast can be
heard on 950 AM, 930 AM, 1270 AM or accessed through your computer at
www.relevantradio.com and listened to online. It is a call in show and
Dr. Sakas has been a regular guest on the show. Their phone number
for call ins is 1-877-766-3777.

Future dates for next year are being set
up....all between 1-2 CST. We will keep providing updates as the dates are set.

If you
cannot listen to it live, go to the "On Call" portion
of the Relevant Radio website at www.relevantradio.com, where you can
hear this and past shows (7/9/13, 9/21/13, 10/7/13) in the archived shows
section (where they are kept for a few months).